plumbing

With the fear of frost looming at the end of October, we had to come up with a suitable winter home for our plant collection which was taking up residence outside and our deck.

They’re now sitting pretty in our living room amongst my favorite pair of vintage chairs.

We came up with a game plan to extend our sunny bay windowsill in order to accommodate the plants and my favorite vintage pots, bowls and vases. We started with fantastic weathered old 1×6 lumber that has almost a barnwood-like quality. We needed 6 – 5 foot boards in total. The boards previously made up a section of simple post and beam fencing in our yard. Each was stripped down to expose the worn grain. Two boards were paired together to make a 12 inch deep shelf. Three sets of boards were attached vertically to one another to create a 3-tier shelf system.

Plumbing pipe shelving is not a new concept but we came up with our own simple plant stand version using pipes and fittings to connect the unit. There are 2 connecting points on each shelf therefore we used a total of 4 – 9 inch plumbing nipples and 8 flanges which screw into the wood. These also double nicely as book ends. The plumbing materials were the most expensive part of this DIY project.

We decided on a set of simple 7 inch turned legs for the bottom which cost less than $5 each at Lowe’s. The raw wood of the legs and shelves received an application of hemp oil for a durable water repellent topcoat which also left a subtle stain highlighting the wood grain.

The plants have happily been relocated to the new plant stand where they are enjoying the expansive window and, normally, bright light.

These snaps are from this morning during a dreary, cold November rain. I love the mix of terra cotta amongst the saturated colors in the kilim rug and mohair chairs – all vintage finds of course. Such a cozy new space!

Thanks for all of the nice feedback on our new bathroom. I just love how it turned out! I am going to share how we constructed the vanity with you today. There are many tutorials out there outlining how to do this but our approach was a little bit different since we went with an over counter trough vessel sink.

Many of you who know us, know how things work around here. Typically I conjure up an idea (sometimes crazy) that utilizes salvaged or vintage materials, develop the aesthetic and then get my husband, Ryan, on board to help execute it. Ok, to mostly execute it. I will fully admit that I don’t have the patience to DIY some of the things I come up with on my own. Hello, blue print wallpaper! I like to think of myself as the Art Director and Ryan as the Engineer around here. Do you have self-appointed titles at home? The bathroom reno followed the same suit until it came time to complete the vanity. We called in assistance from my father who is a Plumber. So without further adieu, our Circa Dee/ Marston Mechanical collaboration!

First things first, we started with prepping the dresser. I mentioned that I had been holding onto this for a while because I knew it was just the right size for this bathroom. I thought I’d paint it with a fresh coat of white. My plan was to use MMS milk paint in Ironstone but as we considered the dresser further it actually had just the right chippy look that I was going for, only in latex. We scrubbed the dresser and pulled off a few of the chipping pieces to find blue/green paint underneath. Perfect.

Three coats of polycrylic sealed the distressed paint and created a durable top coat so this could be used in a bathroom. I chose polycrylic because it won’t yellow the white paint like polyurethane will. Plus it is water based which makes for an easier clean up. Bonus.

Then it was time to bring in the big guns and work around the plumbing. After positioning the dresser in place, we cut out a hole in the back of the dresser to make way for the drainage pipe using a hole saw drill bit.

Next we positioned the sink in the center of the dresser and determined where the sink and faucet holes would need to be. They were cut using the hole saw drill bit too.

Next the faucet was installed.

Everything was secured in place with caulk. The sink was caulked to the dresser. The dresser was caulked to the wall.

We chose this over counter trough vessel sink for several reasons…

As I mentioned, the over counter trough vessel sink helped to preserve as much drawer space as possible. We would have lost half of the drawer storage to accommodate for the drop in.
The dresser is small so if we dropped a large sink in it we’d need to cut a large hole in it which may have ruined the integrity of the dresser and made it weak.
We could have chosen a bowl vessel sink but that just didn’t fit our aesthetic. Too modern so we went with a rectangular trough style.
Bonus. The combination of the over counter sink and the dresser created a nice comfort height vanity.

After the plumbing was reattached, it was time to figure out what would become of the drawers.

I was fully prepared to lose the top drawer to make space for the drain pipe which means it would just become a facade of a drawer. Buuuut they were able to salvage about 20% of the drawer because there was not a drop sink taking up the space. The short drawer is perfect for storing soap, toothpaste and other small bathroom toiletries.

The deeper bottom 2 drawers only lost about 2-3 inches off the back to accommodate for the pipes. The new drawer backs were cut to width from 1×4 pine boards and attached with a brad nailer. Then excessive few inches on the back and sides of the drawers were cut off with a circular saw.

I seemed to have missed a picture of the middle drawer. A 2 inch U shaped notch had to be cut out of the top of the back of that drawer with a jigsaw to accommodate for the bottom of the drainage trap shown below.

It was so minimal though that it is not even noticeable when the drawer is open.

We finished the vanity off with a set of clear green flower knobs on the top drawer and clear glass knobs on the remaining drawers.

This might just be my favorite room in the house right now…

Circa Dee

vintage inspiration for a modern lifestyle

home for the plants

how to: dresser to vanity